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Monday, February 24, 2014

Back when I announced my book deal for ONE, my debut novel, I knew (and accepted!) that my decision to self-publish it meant that I would never get a few things for it: widespread distribution in brick-and-mortar stores, reviews from major publications, and book award nominations.

Not that awards are all that important - the fact that readers love ONE has always been the most important to me, and the greatest award I could ask for. BUT - it would still be really, really, REALLY cool to win an award for the novel that made me brave enough to publish myself.

Seriously, I'm still grinning over this. I don't know who nominated ONE, but I'd like to hug them and turn my silly grin on them and buy them a latte and then hug them again.So please, if you liked ONE or if you like me or if you believe in indie-publishing with a whole lot of hard work, time, and love invested in it, VOTE HERE.

Anyone can vote. You, your critique partners, your co-workers, your siblings, your spouse. Anyone you know who you've recommended ONE to who's liked it (thank you!) can vote and share the link with all their friends so they can vote too. You know, if they want to.

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I've said it before and I'll say it a million times again - I owe every ounce of my success to my readers, especially those who recommend and share with even more readers. You all make my world go 'round. <3 nbsp="" p="">3>

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Hey, sweet readers!
I feel like there's been a low buzz around Solving for Ex since I first announced the book deal , and I have you to thank. From the very beginning you've cheered me on, asked how you can help, and helped the word spread like wildfire.

I'm so proud to be releasing this YA contemporary retelling of Mansfield Park out into the world on its 200th anniversary of publication (give or take a few months.) It's funny to think that the publishing world was just as wild and crazy in the 21st century as it was in the 19th. Thomas Egerton was a small indie publisher (who published books "on commission," which was sort of a weird hybrid of self-publishing and the royalty model,) of a seriously interesting collection of stuff, but none of it was romance - until he encountered Jane Austen.

Wouldn't you know? She made a splash in British publishing like no other woman ever had, or ever would again, and it was all because a handful of people believed in her.

In whatever small way I'm carrying on her legacy by publishing this retelling, I'm honored to do it.

How can you help me celebrate Solving for Ex's release? By helping me spread the word, of course!

SIMPLIFY.Ashley Price doesn’t have much in life after
being bullied so hard she had to leave her old school to live with her aunt and
uncle in Pittsburgh. But the camera she borrowed from her best friend and
secret crush Brendan, and her off the charts math abilities, make things a lot
more bearable. Plus, since Brendan is the captain, making the school Mathletes
team should be easy.

But when gorgeous new girl Sofia rolls in and
steals Brendan, Ashley's place on the team, and her fragile foothold on the
Mansfield Park Prep social totem pole, it’s on. Sofia is everything Ashley left
her old school to escape. The only thing Ashley didn’t count on is Sofia’s sexy
twin brother Vincent.

Vincent is not only the hottest boy in school,
he’s charming, sweet, and he’s got his eye on Ashley. He’s also not taking no
for an answer. There's no real reason Ashley shouldn't like Vincent, but with
thebattle lines being drawn between her and Sofia,
Ashley’s not sure which side he’s on. Or which side she wants him to be on.

She does know Sofia is trouble with a capital T,
and she’s determined to make Brendan see it.

SOLVING FOR EX is a YA contemporary romance that
remixes Mansfield Park as Clueless meets Mean Girls in a crazy mix of high
school society, mathletic competition, and teenage romance.

As always, thank you a million times a million for all your love, support, and enthusiasm for me and for Solving for Ex. It means the world to me.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

1. Every publishing path has its drawbacks, and no drawback is ultimately worse than any other.

I chose self-publishing after knowing, and accepting, the drawbacks, one of which was the unavailability of many discoverability channels. The fact that my book will never be in Wal-Mart or in a magazine is something that I made peace with a long time ago. I published my books anyway, because I thought they could succeed despite that. And they have, modestly.

The drawbacks in self publishing are different than those in small or traditional publishing (some people say low royalties and lack of creative control are drawbacks, for example), and I decided to self publish because, despite those drawbacks, I decided the benefits more than canceled them out. One week before publishing my third book, I'm very happy with my decision, drawbacks and all.

2. Other books are not a reflection on mine just because we have a publishing path in common.

Before I publish a book, I work hard to make sure it's edited, nicely formatted, and professionally presented. I have two editors work on it, plus proofreaders and a formatter. I also have a professionally designed cover.

Then I solicit reviews from book bloggers and Goodreads reviewers. I set up a blog tour comprised, in large part, of those bloggers. When my book publishes, they post their review on Amazon, because I approached them professionally with a polished product, and they want to post the review. Besides the blog tour, I have a multi-tiered marketing plan designed to create buzz about the book months before it's published.

All these things, together, set my book apart from sub-par self-published books. Readers don't need an official seal of approval or a publisher name or a special tag in the Kindle store to tell that my book is a high quality publication, and that's because...3. Readers are smart.

They're smart enough to set up their own channels of discoverability. They know how to follow book bloggers they trust, and ask friends for book recommendations, and navigate their way through online retailers, and remember the names of authors whose previous work they've loved, and check for things like great covers, good reviews, compelling descriptions, and they do all these things because they want to buy and read books that are exactly what they're looking for.

Some people are looking for highly-vetted, traditionally published literary fiction, and they know to look at certain review lists to find them. Some people want to read dinosaur erotica, and they know how to look for that. People have unique, specific tastes, and they know what they want to read, and I believe they're better at finding books for themselves than any large third party could be.

I believe that readers are smart enough to find the books/authors they're interested in reading. They're smart enough to download a sample, read a page or two, and discern whether the writing is unsatisfactory to them in any way. They really are.